WITCH Into the arena
by yellow 14
Summary: In the country of Meridian, the games are seen as the defining aspect of Meridian society. They say that if you can control the games, you can control the people. Five girls are thrown into these games. Can they change the world for the better?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own W.I.T.C.H or Battlebeasts or Kamira the Sky Village.

AN: The inspiration for this fic came from Heart of Demons. This fic borrows heavily from the book Kamira the Sky Village, so there will be similarities to one of XV-Dragons fics that he's discussing on one of his forums. These similarities are more chance than intended, so my apologies XV.

The crowds began to fill the arena and the buzz of excitement could be felt in the air. The spectators waited with anticipation for the games to begin. Or at least most of them were here for the games. As always, with crowded events like these, there was a criminal element of pickpockets and various other criminals. They all sought to take advantage of the milling crowds to make a profit.

One such individual was waiting just inside one of the side gates, subtly watching the crowd file in. Wearing a hooded cloak to avoid standing out, the young redhead named Will knew very well that the richest targets came in through the side gates to avoid unwanted attention.

A young guard walked in through the gate and immediately caught Will's attention. Only nobles had bodyguards and you could tell he was a trained bodyguard by the way he moved. In fact, he was pretty cute, with his messy brown hair and sad green eyes. As far as Will was concerned though, he was the enemy. She needed to eat and stealing was the only way she'd get the money.

When the young mans patron walked in, Will's eyes widened in disbelief. Her clothes were clearly rich, but it was in the details that marked her out. Although her white robe was simple, the buttons were carved dragonbone, making her buttons worth at least three times more than an average citizen would earn in a year. Her earrings at first glance were simple gold studs, but Will could see the dwarven carvings on them, meaning that they were dwarf made, which made them five times as valuable as a normal human made stud.

In short, this girl was seriously rich, but she didn't seem to want to flaunt her wealth. That made her something of an oddity in Meridian, nobles tended to demonstrate their wealth in the way they dressed, not least because it made the social standing of the wearer immediately clear to all around them. So this girl was definitely an oddity. Will however had no time to ponder mysteries. With great subtlety, Will followed the girl.

0000000000000000000000000000000

Elyon sat down in the chair beside her brother, King Phobos. Standing to her right was her bodyguard Caleb. Despite the fact that Elyon was more than capable of looking after herself, her brother insisted she had a bodyguard. The fact that said bodyguard would probably need her to protect him in the event they were attacked only served to irk Elyon further. She didn't like attending these games either, but it was another thing her brother had insisted upon, claiming that it would make her strong enough to rule the Meridian empire.

Meridian itself had grown under her brother's rule, starting as a small city-state and growing to encompass a huge empire. But at a great cost, both in lives and in terms of human suffering.

Elyon saw her brother's face assume a pained expression when he saw her. Her refusal to flaunt her wealth and connections was a constant source of annoyance to him.

"Elyon my dear, surely you can do better than that?" he moaned. Elyon grinned.

"I find such clothes to be gaudy, my dear Phobos. I prefer the subtle approach." Elyon replied, with a slight hint of sarcasm.

Phobos sighed once more. "Fortunately, dear sister, I have good news. The city-state of Heatherfield has finally fallen to our armies."

Elyon's head snapped up. "Really? But what of the sorceress Yan Lin? Her power has always held you back before. What changed?"

Phobos gave her a look of false sincerity that hadn't fooled Elyon in years. "Oh I forgot. You knew her and her family, didn't you?" He asked with mock sympathy. "Unfortunately she passed away in her sleep. I guess the strain of keeping our forces back proved to be too much for her frail body."

Elyon turned away determined not to let her brother see her cry. Yan Lin's granddaughter, Hay Lin had befriended her when she was at school in Heatherfield. This had been a couple of years ago, before her brother had ascended the throne. It hadn't just been Hay Lin either. Hay Lin's oldest friend Irma was a part of their little group as well. Finally there was Cornelia, her closest friend and Irma's constant sparring partner. It was Yan Lin who had given her a second home in the Silver Dragon.

It was the Silver Dragon, which had puzzled Elyon the most when she first came to Heatherfield. A sorceress of Yan Lin's power could have lived anywhere she wanted, never doing manual work. It was Yan Lin who taught her the value of simplicity and hard work and Yan Lin was family to her, far more so than her brother or even for that matter her real parents.

000000000000000000000000000000000

Will watched her target carefully. The girl was about her age, with straw blonde hair. She seemed to be upset about something, silent tears falling from her face.

Will found herself sympathising with the girl. Although she had no way of knowing for sure, Will had a strong sense of empathy and right now it was telling her that the girl in front of her was grieving the loss of someone very dear to her. Still it made Will's task a lot easier. People don't see as well when they're crying and that makes them easier to rob. Crouching down, she slowly approached the girl in front of her.

000000000000000000000000000000000

Elyon cried silently, her face turned away from her brother. As the games began she felt a slight twinge as someone grabbed her purse. In a sudden fit of uncharacteristic anger she span round and magically bound the person concerned to the wall.

"Thief!" she yelled angrily.

Her brother turned to see the person she'd caught, an angry expression on his face. Nobody stole from the royal family and lived to tell the tale as far as he was concerned.

Pulling down the persons hood, she saw a mass of short red hair and she realised that the thief wasn't that much older than she was. In fact, if she was to hazard a guess, this girl was roughly the same age as her old friends from Heatherfield.

"What's your name, little girl?" she asked as she felt her anger drain away.

"W-W-Will miss. Will Vandom." Will replied nervously.

"It doesn't matter what her name is." Phobos snarled, "execute her."

"Wait!" Elyon interjected. "I'm the one she was stealing from, should I not have a say in her punishment?"

Phobos raised an eyebrow at this. Elyon decided to press her point.

"I am the next heir to the throne, if you don't have any children. Surely I at least have the right to plead for a little leniency?" she asked.

Phobos smiled and Will felt a shiver go down her spine. She didn't need to know Phobos to know that smile meant trouble.

"Very well, little sister, I will grant her mercy. Instead of being executed, she will be given the chance to earn her freedom in the arena." He said with some amusement.

Will let out a gasp of surprise and horror. So did Elyon. And for good reason. People seldom died in the arena. (In fact the last time someone was killed there had been before Will had even been born.) People lost their minds in the arena, the summoning and controlling of a battlebeast could shred a persons mind. There were those who were able to keep coming, but a lot of people didn't last beyond their first two or three fights.

"Brother," she began, but Phobos cut her off.

"My dear Elyon, I have spared her life. Do not presume to test my patience." Phobos growled.

Elyon bowed her head. "Of course brother." She murmured.

"I'm sorry" Elyon whispered as Will was dragged away.

"Yeah, well next time you feel like helping me, don't" Will snapped back.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Hay Lin looked up from her sketchbook as the new arrivals were dragged in. Deciding that it would probably be a good idea for her to welcome the new arrivals, she got up and headed towards them.

"Hi there!" she said in a cheerful voice as she stuck out her hand to a dark-skinned girl wearing glasses "I'm Hay Lin."

"T-T-T-Taranee Cook." The girl the girl stuttered nervously as she took Hay Lin's hand.

"Will Vandom." The other girl answered.

"Well Will and Taranee, welcome to the arena." Hay Lin paused for a moment and Will and Taranee looked at each other with mildly bemused expressions.

"Sheesh Hay, we don't want to scare the hell out of them." A brunette girl commented as she came over and shook hands with Will. "Hi, I'm Irma and the blonde bint coming up behind me is Corny."

"It's Cornelia." The blond girl growled. "And who are you calling bint? You always did get lower grades than me in school." Turning to face Taranee and Will, "I'm Cornelia Hale. Don't worry about Hay Lin, she's not crazy, just…" Cornelia paused for a moment as she tried to think of a way to explain Hay Lin to a couple of people who didn't know Hay Lin. "Hay Lin's got plenty of bounce, that's all."

"So where're you guys from?" Hay Lin asked as she bounced around the group.

"Sesamo" Taranee replied.

"Meridian." Will answered after a short pause. The others looked at her in surprise.

"Then how did you end up here?" Cornelia asked pointedly.

Will shook her head.

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Ok then. We're all from Heatherfield." Hay Lin said as she continued to bounce on her toes. Cornelia rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry about Hay, she's a little psyched to be meeting someone new." Cornelia said.

"Yeah, I think all that ink she's absorbed from writing on her hands has managed to poison her" Irma added.

"Hey, guess what our initials spell!" Hay Lin cut in excitedly. She held out her hand, palm up.

Will and Taranee raised their eyebrows in surprise. Cornelia and Irma on the other hand merely rolled their eyes.

"That's really great Hay." Irma commented sardonically.

"You want to call us W.I.T.C.H?" Cornelia asked with some scepticism.

"That's an excellent idea!" exclaimed a voice behind them. They all turned to face the person who'd spoken. A woman with long brown-black hair and tanned skin looked over Will and Taranee critically.

"Let's hope we can keep it that way. I'm Serena your new master."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: See page one.

Will let out a groan as she heard the morning gong sound in the middle of the slave compound.

Bong!!! The gong went. Will tried to cover her ears with her pillow.

Bong!!! The gong continued, its sound unimpeded by Will's pillow. Muttering viciously under her breath about how much she hated getting up at this time of the morning.

Bong!!!

"Alright, alright, I'm getting up already!" Will snapped at the window. The gong merely continued to sound.

"Snapping at it won't make it stop you know." Will's roommate Taranee told her calmly.

"It's too early in the morning for this." Will moaned sleepily. Taranee raised an eyebrow at this.

"I-I-It's nearly eight in the morning" Taranee pointed out, slightly nervously. Will gave Taranee a pointed glare and then pulled on her clothes. Taranee did likewise on her side of their cramped room. As soon as they were dressed they stepped out into the compound.

"Morning! Exciting day isn't it? We get to discover our inner Battlebeasts! Isn't that kinda cool?" Hay Lin said as she bounced up to Will and Taranee. Will made a mental note to keep a close eye on Hay Lin. Nobody sane had any right to be so cheerful so early in the day. Especially as said person was also a slave.

"M-M-Morning guys." Irma said, yawning as she strolled into courtyard. Cornelia followed her, looking equally tired, but surprising well-done up, despite where she was. Even wearing the dull grey, sackcloth-like dress that they'd been issued with at the slave market (the idea was that it made it difficult for slaves to slip away) she still held herself with a poise and grace that would not look out of place among nobility.

"Hi guys! Busy day today! It's gonna be cool, don't you think?" Hay Lin said to Irma and Cornelia.

"Hay, in case you haven't noticed, we've been torn from our homes and families, been turned into property and are about to expose our minds to the stresses of summoning a Battlebeast and YOU think it's cool?" Irma snapped out. Hay Lin's face darkened.

"I know precisely what's happened to us. In case you'd forgotten, my family is DEAD! My grandmother's legacy has been broken and forgotten. Do not talk to me about what we've lost." Hay Lin growled and Irma backed away, hands up.

"Sorry Hay, I was out of line," she said backing off. Will made a mental note to keep her distance if at all possible from the bouncy Chinese girl. Hay Lin might be scarily cheerful, but she was even scarier angry.

"Good morning girls. Today, as some of you will have guessed, is the day we see what type of Battlebeast you summon up. Don't worry if it's not like the ones you've seen in the arena, those ones take time to master. Unlike some other team masters, I believe in steadily improving your Battlebeast. It takes time to adjust to the helmet and this way the risk of insanity is lowered by a huge margin." Serena told them calmly.

"Very comforting that." Irma whispered to them, but Serena appeared not to have heard her.

"Come forward and pick up a headset." She finished, waving her arm to a tray of headsets.

The headsets were little more than grey circlets with an eyepiece attached for the right eye. After everyone had grabbed a headset, Serena turned to face the group once more.

"Does everyone have a headset? Good. Now do we have any volunteers to go first?" Serena asked.

Well I'd better get this over and done with. Will thought to herself. No point in allowing myself to get more scared than I already am.

"I will." Will said, stepping forward at the same time as Hay Lin.

Serena raised an eyebrow and a small smile appeared on her face.

"Two at once!" she exclaimed. "Well this is an unusual turn of events." Serena paused as she looked at both Will and Hay Lin. "Hmmm. The redhead first I think."

"The names Will." Will told Serena, looking her in the eye. The next thing she knew, a hand had smacked the side of her face and Will was sent sprawling.

"Insolent slave!" growled a man standing beside Serena. He was a tall, blonde haired man with a long face and cruel blue eyes. "You do not talk back to your mistress so!"

"Back off Cedric!" Serena snapped, turning to face the man. "What are you doing here?"

"Prince Phobos wanted me to make an offer for the girl. He has a special interest in her and wants her to join my team." Cedric told Serena calmly. Serena glared at Cedric with such venom that he almost backed off.

"You forget, I know what you do to slave girls. The answer is no!" Serena replied vehemently and Will stared at Serena in awe. Lord Cedric was one of King Phobos's closest advisors and few people dared to cross him. Serena, in Will's opinion, was either very stupid or very brave.

Cedric eyed the girls in front of him and walked up to Hay Lin. Grabbing her chin, he looked her in the eye with contempt.

"You must be Yan Lin's granddaughter, if I'm not mistaken." He hissed. "Such a shame you're not my property, I'd give you the attention you deserve." He finished, leering over her. Hay Lin looked terrified, but she held eye contact with Cedric and there was a gleam of defiance in her eyes.

"Leave her alone." Serena, Irma and Cornelia growled at Cedric simultaneously. Cedric stepped back a step.

"It seems to me that your slaves lack the respect due their superiors. Perhaps I should report you. Or perhaps help you discipline them. I'm sure my particular regime would suit them well." He hissed almost sarcastically.

"Get out now, or I WILL have you thrown out." Serena snarled at Cedric. That decided it for Will. Serena was definitely in the stupid or crazy side. Cedric turned on his heel and stormed out and everyone breathed a sigh of relief and the tension in the air suddenly collapsed as everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. Well everyone except Serena, who seemed completely unruffled by Cedric's visit.

"You don't need to worry about him." She said with a chuckle. "I earned my freedom in the arena. It was just before Phobos came to the throne. Now, I'm far too popular for him to make anything other than threatening noises. Besides which, my patron is Princess Elyon. If you're lucky, you might as well. Now, on with the testing."

The collective jaws of the W.I.T.C.H girls dropped in amazement.

"Wait you were a slave? Like us?" Irma asked in disbelief. Serena glared at her and Irma suddenly backed off.

"Yes I was like you once. But Phobos hasn't granted anyone their freedom since he came to power."

"You mean... the king is the one who grants arena slaves their freedom?" Will asked nervously.

"That's right." Serena replied almost cheerfully and Will sank towards the ground.

"I'm doomed." Will pronounced miserably.

"Oh come on now, it can't be that bad. It's not like you tried to rob or kill the King now exactly." Irma said comfortingly.

Will looked up at Irma. "I'll tell you about it sometime." She said as Irma helped her to her feet.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Cedric was in a foul mood when he returned to his compound. The nerve of that woman! Phobos would not be pleased, but even Phobos wasn't prepared to ride roughshod over the law or his sister's authority. Not yet anyway.

"I take it that things did not go well then?" Miranda asked in a sweet voice. Well, sweet for her anyway. Cedric sat down heavily and Miranda began to massage his shoulders.

"That damn woman refused to even hear my offer. Phobos will not be happy, he wants the girl broken and I was supposed to ensure it happened." He moaned softly as Miranda's massage began to take effect and his muscles relaxed.

"Then we'll merely have to push her there in the arena then won't we my love." Miranda whispered in his ear and Cedric grinned.

"Yes, that's exactly what we'll do." He said with an evil grin forming on his face and he turned to kiss Miranda firmly on the lips. "You know, for a slave you have a remarkably evil mind."

Miranda grinned and their kisses became steadily more passionate.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Will stood at the edge of the training arena on a platform and concentrated on summoning her inner Battlebeast. The headset was supposed to access a dimension called Beest and summon up a creature that matched the person doing the summoning.

A pink sphere formed in the centre of the arena and a dragon popped. Only the size of a medium sized dog, the silvery-grey dragon with golden eyes looked around the compound with disdain, almost as if he thought it below him. (Will was given the impression that if he spoke, he'd be a lot like Cornelia.)

"Great. My Battlebeast is a snooty dragon." Will muttered to herself. Serena on the other hand looked impressed. Following Serena's eyes, she saw a symbol on the dragon's chest. The symbol was comprised of two horizontal curved lines. They looked like a couple of tadpoles, chasing each other, but instead of forming a circle, they formed an oval shape.

"Well it looks like we have a winner here." Serena said with a huge grin on her face.

"W-w-what?" Will asked, confused by what Serena was saying.

"That, my dear Will, is a quintessence symbol. Only the rarest and most powerful Battlebeasts have those on their chests. You, I think, have a great deal of potential." Serena told her. Will's eyes bulged with excitement.

"Really?" Will asked excitedly.

"Yes. But the operative word is potential. You have a lot of training to do first." Serena said calmly. "Right, you, you're up next" she said, pointing to Hay Lin.

As Will stepped off the platform, Will fell to her knees she felt a sudden rush of aggressive emotions run through her and a sensation on pain, like a thousand needles running over her skin.

"What was that?" Will asked as she got to her feet.

"That was your first post-summoning experience. They become easier to handle and far less painful, the more you become acclimatised to handling your Battlebeast." Serena told Will calmly. "Anyway, come on now, let's see what the rest of you have."

Hay Lin stepped up to the platform, slightly nervously after witnessing what happened to Will. Putting on the headset, she summoned up a sphere. Unlike Will, her sphere was purple in colour. With a slight pop, a falcon popped out and on its chest was a different symbol. This one looked like a deformed c shape.

"Air. Excellent." Serena pronounced after staring at the symbol for a few minutes. "Next please."

Cornelia strode forward confidently. She was determined to better Will's performance.

As for Hay Lin, when she stepped off the platform, she felt a rush of euphoria rush through her and she seemed to practically glow with excitement. Clearly, she didn't feel any pain. Will glared daggers at her.

Cornelia's sphere was green in colour and out popped a huge moving tree, a Gnar tree native to Heatherfield, it's branches swinging about angrily. The symbol was on the tree trunk, a circle with a dot in the middle.

"Hmmm. Earth. A tricky one to use effectively." Serena said calmly as she assessed the symbol.

Cursing under her breath, Cornelia decided to show Miss Serena that Cornelia Hale was no ordinary girl. Closing her eyes, she called up the second part of the summoning, the mechanic part. Suddenly, the tree was covered in armour and weapons. Serena was unimpressed.

"That's a good way to get yourself driven out of your mind." Serena commented calmly. Cornelia stormed off the platform, but before she could take more than a couple of steps, she collapsed as a flood of contradictory sensations hit her mind. Firstly, her head felt like all her emotions were exploding out of it, followed by a sudden loss of feelings altogether. A couple of minutes later, she regained consciousness, surrounded by the others. She sat up and a sudden burst of pain shot through her head.

"Typical Corny, always trying to be the best." Irma commented sardonically as Cornelia stood up.

"Don't call me Corny." Cornelia growled at Irma and she fixed the brunette a devastating glare.

Irma was completely unperturbed by Cornelia's reaction. Instead of shrinking away, Irma simply grinned.

"Let's see if I can do any better." She said and stepped up to the platform.

Irma's sphere was light blue in colour, but when her creature popped out, it dived into the moat so fast that it was just a blur.

"Seems to me like your creatures just a little chicken, Irmy." Cornelia taunted, but in a light-hearted voice. Serena on the other hand was staring closely at the creature in the moat as it came to the surface.

"A water beast of unusual power." Serena pronounced firmly as the creature came to the surface. Looking closer, they could see a giant squid with a symbol that looked like a deformed e or c on its body.

As Irma stepped off the platform, she felt all feeling from her legs drain away and she fell to the ground.

Finally Taranee stepped up to the platform. Her sphere was a fiery red and out popped a Sidewinder snake. On the snakes head was the symbol of a triangle.

"A fire beast." Serena commented calmly. As she stepped off the platform, Taranee felt a sudden rush of heat flow through her body.

Serena turned to face them.

"Right." She began, "Now we know what type of Battlebeasts you have, I want you to find something to wind down on. It'll help you stay sane to have something to focus on."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Susan Vandom watched as the girls walked back to their main living quarters. Being careful not to be seen, she approached Serena.

"Hi sis." Susan whispered to Serena when she was close enough. Serena spun round so fast, her neck clicked.

"What are YOU doing here Susan?" Serena asked, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Is it a crime to want to see my big sister now?" Susan asked with mock sincerity, by way of reply.

"Yes, if you are wanted for crimes against the empire!" Serena snapped back exasperated. "I don't want to see you hang. It won't bring your missing daughter back and if she's still out there, don't you think you owe it to her to survive?"

"I need you to pass on a message to the Oracle." Susan whispered. Serena's eyes widened and Susan decided to press on. "Phobos is planning a major offensive against the Candracarian Federation. He intends to attack through the south-west mountains."

Serena swore under her breath. "Why can't your regular channels pass this on?" she asked irritably.

"Serena, all of my regular channels are too slow. Phobos intends to attack sometime within the next week. Please Serena, you know I wouldn't ask you this if I had any other choice." Susan pleaded, giving Serena her puppy-dog eye look.

"Very well then." Serena snapped back, but without any real feeling, before pulling Susan into a tight hug. "I've missed you sis." She whispered in Susan's ear.

"Me too sis. Me too." Susan whispered back.

As Serena watched Susan vanish back into the shadows, Serena closed her eyes and said a brief prayer under her breath that Susan would not get caught.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

As the girls entered the living compound, all five of them set about channelling away the mental strains of the day.

For Hay Lin it was obvious. She started to draw her Battlebeast and then set about drawing the Battlebeasts of the others.

Cornelia began to do a series of acrobatic manoeuvres. She was actually pretty good and pretty soon she had an audience of guards watching her.

Taranee grabbed a stick and started to write out mathematical problems in the sand. Where as Hay Lin had somehow kept hold of her magical sketchbook and pen (Taranee made a mental note to ask Hay Lin how), Taranee didn't have something to write on.

Irma walked into the gladiatorial baths and sunk herself into one, relaxing as she felt the water soak her.

Will was at a bit of a loss what to do. Everyone else had something to do, but not her. Walking back to her quarters, she heard a small squeak come from under her bed. Pulling the bed up (There was not enough room to pull it to aside.) she saw a dormouse trapped in a mousetrap there. The animals leg was trapped and it was squeaking in pain.

"Hush now cutie, I'll have you out soon." She whispered to the creature as she steadily knelt down to help it. The dormouse calmed down, almost as though it could sense her intentions. With a little pull on the trap, the dormouse was free. Picking the dormouse up, the animal scurried up her arm. Will took him to the kitchens, determined to get him fed.

AN: The symbols on the Battlebeasts chests are the relevant girls symbols from the cartoon/comic series.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: What on Earth makes you think I own W.I.T.C.H or anything else in this fic? Of course I don't.

AN: Special thanks go to thepinkno1atthereefside for her invaluable help in creating this chapter.

AN2: I apologise for the lateness of this chapter. I'm afraid I've been distracted by a HP comp and the muse spitting out plenty of new story ideas

Serena glared at the sheet of paper in front of her. If looks could kill, the sheet of paper would have burst into flames on the spot. On the sheet was a schedule for the next bout of fights and her team, team W.I.T.C.H, were being given a challenge that would normally be given to a more experienced team.

"Phobos." She growled to herself. Although Phobos wasn't officially involved with the selection of fights, it was a well known fact that he had a great deal of influence with the arena officials and was not above leaning on officials to see that certain teams faced more difficult challengers in their opening bouts.

Serena shook her head and started to tap her fingers. No, there was something more to this situation. Something to do with that Will girl that Cedric had tried to buy, Serena's instinct told her that much. Standing up, Serena walked out of he office, determined to ask Will herself.

Will felt a now familiar strain on her brain as she summoned up her Battlebeast. As the pink sphere appeared, a red half of a yin/yang image appeared on her eyepiece. Will's silvery-grey dragon stepped out and looked around in its snooty style. (Serena had insisted to Will that Battlebeasts didn't do 'snooty', but as far as Will was concerned, that's what it looked like.)

"Now for the hard bit." Will murmured to herself as she focused on summoning the mech part of her Battlebeast. Focusing hard, her brain suddenly felt like it was being put through a cheese grater. As the metal-grey half of the yin/yang symbol appeared on her screen, there was a sudden flash as the mech components of her Battlebeast appeared.

On Will's dragon, a slim, green and silver helmet covered his head. On top of this helmet was a pair of long metal prongs. When these prongs sparked, a bolt of lightening would shoot out from between them to hit whatever was in front of them. These 'lightening lasers' as they were commonly known, could deliver a devastating punch by anyone's standards.

On the chest sat a breastplate that was also metal grey in colour. Underneath it, right under the dragon's chest, sat another couple of lightening lasers. According to Serena, quintessence Battlebeasts tended to gravitate towards electric weapons. The dragons feet sparked and crackled as the electro-gauntlets on his front paws reacted to the ground beneath him. While the lightening lasers where good for enemies who were further away, the gauntlets were excellent weapons for extreme close quarters, in-your-face fighting.

"Hello there, Mr Huggles!" Hay Lin said excitedly to Will's dragon. Will's dragon glared at the hyperactive young Chinese girl from Heatherfield with such intensity that would scare most people. Hay Lin simply gave him one of her trademark million watt smiles and Will wondered, not for the first time, whether Hay Lin inhabited the same universe as the rest of them. Fortunately, she was interrupted in her musings by another voice she knew well.

"Why on Earth you called your dragon by that ridiculous name, I'll never know." Cornelia said in a slightly contemptuous voice. Will turned to face the blond girl with a smile.

"Why Cornelia, he's so snobby I've got to have a little fun with him." Will said firmly. "And you've got to admit, it throws people off."

"Attagirl Will, that's the spirit!" An excited voice yelled out as a pair of arms grabbed Will around the neck so hard that Will stumbled backwards.

"Nice going Irma, we really need you to put our leader out of action just before we're due to go into the arena." Cornelia said sardonically. Irma just shrugged and stuck her tongue out.

"Come on Corny, it's not like Willhemia here's made of glass." Irma shot back and Will winced at the use of her full name.

"Don't call me Corny/Willhemia!" Will and Cornelia shouted at Irma at the same time.

"And I wonder what I was thinking when I agreed to be your roommate." Cornelia added.

"Probably something to do with my beautiful, sexy body, incredible charm and almost superhuman flexibility." Irma replied as a predatory grin settled on her face, her eyes looking straight into Cornelia's. Cornelia's face took on an equally predatory grin.

"Well incredibly sexy body anyway." She said and Will rolled her eyes.

"Can you two stop flirting with one another and get on with SUMMONING your Battlebeasts up?" she asked firmly. Will pointed to Hay Lin, who was already summoning her Battlebeast up. With one last look of longing at one another, Irma and Cornelia put their headsets on and began to summon up their Battlebeasts.

Over the course of the past month, Irma's Battlebeast was still very much a mystery. Although they all knew it was a squid, with a long torpedo body and tentacles drawn out behind it, it remained hidden underwater. Will had had some doubts as to the usefulness of a creature that remained hidden, but in training Irma's beast had proved its worth. The mech part of her Battlebeast was an even bigger mystery, with not one of them knowing what exactly it had. Only Irma knew what it was in its entirety and, much to everyone's surprise, she wasn't telling.

Cornelia's Grak tree on the other hand, was far from hidden. Banks of earth were piled at its base, protection against most attackers. The trunk was covered in thick, mud-caked armour. As Cornelia's Battlebeast was a static fighter, the emphasis was on an ability to take a lot of damage. In the thick top branches of the tree sat a couple of huge howitzers. With their massive recoil, they could pack a tremendous punch, well out of range of the less powerful weapons found on most Battlebeasts. In the lower branches, no fewer than four machine guns protected the base of the tree.

Hay Lin's falcon was again a rather different creature. A thin breastplate covered the falcon's chest and a skin-tight helmet covered the head, but there were no other concessions to the protection of the beast. This was largely due to the fact that air Battlebeasts tended to rely on speed and agility to evade attacks and to execute attacks of their own. Armour would only get in the way. A pair of lasers was mounted on the top of the falcon's helmet, meanwhile attached to the wings were weapons pylons, carrying missiles and bombs.

"Hey where's Taranee?" Hay Lin asked, looking round for their missing companion.

"Still recovering from that blow water-brain here gave her in training last night." Cornelia replied, pointing to Irma, who turned red with embarrassment.

"Thanks a lot Corny." Irma muttered sulkily under her breath and everyone laughed.

"Awww, perhaps I should kiss you better?" Cornelia said mockingly with a grin and leaned over and kissed Irma on the cheek. Will, feeling uncomfortable, turned her attention to the training arena.

Four columns of smoke appeared in the centre of the arena and from these columns emerged three training golems. Each golem represented the type of creature that they were likely to encounter in the arena and the challenges they might face. This time, three of the golems were clay birds and one was a giant human-shaped creature.

"Ok, let's go!" Irma yelled and with a swift movement from her hands, caused her Battlebeast to grab the giant golem with its tentacles. As the golem teetered backwards, Irma pulled her arms into her chest. The tentacles of her Battlebeast pulled the golem into the water with a tremendous slash. As the golem tried to climb out, two torpedoes streaked towards the creature and sent the golem crashing back into the water.

The three bird golems flew at the roots of Cornelia's Grak tree, simulating a co-ordinated attack from three air Battlebeasts. The machine guns on Cornelia's tree chattered into action, their muzzles flashed as they created a wall of lead against the flying golems, but to Cornelia's frustration, the gunfire simply wasn't concentrated enough to stop the golems as they flashed past.

"STAND STILL DAMNIT!" Cornelia bellowed at the flying golems in frustration as they flew past her Battlebeast.

The golems ignored her and started to circle around for a second pass. But as they did, Will's dragon and Hay Lin's falcon pulled up behind them and opened fire. The results were devastating.

The one in front of Will's dragon exploded as the three lightening bolts streaked out and hit the golem from behind.

The one with Hay Lin's eagle behind it fared little better. Two missiles flew off of the falcon's wings and took the wings off of the second golem.

The remaining golem continued to fly straight at Cornelia's Grak tree, but this time it was alone. As the machine guns on Cornelia's tree opened fire, the concentration of fire knocked the remaining golem down in a hail of gunfire.

"Most impressive girls." Serena commented, making them all jump.

"M-m-mistress, we didn't see you there!" Will exclaimed nervously and Serena smiled.

"I gathered. Will, I'd like to see you as soon as you finish dismissing your Battlebeast." Serena paused to look Will in the eye. "Privately, if you don't mind."

Will gulped nervously. "Yes Mistress." Will replied quietly, looking at her feet.

"Wow, what'd you do to warrant this, Will?" Taranee asked quietly and Will shrugged her shoulders.

"Little Will, our own little rebel. You're just full of surprises aren't ya?" Irma added playfully. Will started to blush vividly. "So what DID you do?"

"I don't know! Really, I don't!" Will protested as the others looked at her in disbelief. Swallowing hard, Will dismissed her Battlebeast and slowly walked towards Serena's office.

"What did I do to deserve this?" Elyon asked the sky rhetorically as she slammed her hands down on yet more paperwork. "I mean, seriously! How hard can it be to find three girls from Heatherfield?"

It had been almost three weeks since Elyon had been able to confirm her three friends from Heatherfield had been taken alive and sold into slavery, but finding what had happened next was proving to be impossible. Elyon opened her eyes and glared at the pile of documents sitting on her desk once more and ground her teeth.

The simple fact of the matter was, a lot of the documents that she needed had been destroyed when the rebellion had liberated a group of slaves during transport. Amongst those documents, had been a set of receipts pertaining to some Heatherfield slaves. Without those receipts, it was proving to be impossible to trace her friends any further. A voice broke into her thoughts.

"Princess Elyon? Your brother wishes to see you."

Princess Elyon turned her head and faced the hulking brute that had spoken.

"Very well Frost, I will join him shortly." She said in a resigned voice, purposely omitting the Lord part of his name. Frost stormed out in annoyance and Elyon let out the first chuckle she'd had in days. Needling Lord Frost Hunter was far too easy for her to enjoy doing it for long. Elyon stood up from her table and walked out of the door.

"Will, I want to know who it was that you tried to steal from?" Serena asked firmly as she looked Will in the eye. "Princess Elyon was very specific that I get you on the team, Cedric tried very hard to buy you and now King Phobos throws us against a team we really shouldn't be facing yet! So tell me, who did you try to steal from, to justify this level of response?"

Will swallowed hard. It felt like she had temporarily lost the ability to speak. Serena kept her pinned with her stare that clearly demanded an answer.

"I-I-I th-think it was Princess Elyon Mistress." Will stammered out nervously.

"You think it was Princess Elyon?" Serena asked. "Are you sure?"

"She called him brother after she pinned me against the wall." Will replied as she felt some feeling return to her legs.

Serena chuckled and the atmosphere became noticeably less tense.

"That explains a few things I suppose. Let me guess, Elyon asked Phobos to spare your life, right?" Will nodded and Serena continued. "So that's why you're here? Go figure, Princess Elyon has always had a knack for being more forgiving than her brother."

"Mistress?" Will asked uncertainly. Serena waved her away.

"Will, you're dismissed. Return to your quarters and get some sleep, your first arena battle is tomorrow. Good thing Taranee will be back on her feet by then."

"Yes Mistress."

0000000000000000000000000000

The night passed far too quickly for Will. As the morning gong rang, Will rubbed her eyes and let out a huge yawn.

"Wakey-wakey Will." Taranee said quietly to her roommate and Will groaned, much to Taranee's amusement.

"Taranee, it's far to early to be up and about." Will moaned. Taranee would have smiled were it not for the fact that her stomach was doing nervous turns and she was desperately trying to ignore the sick feeling in her stomach.

Taranee just concentrated on getting dressed, while Will rolled over and tried to ignore the ringing gong.

"You're going to have to get up Will." Taranee pointed out and promptly ducked as Will threw her pillow at her. Yawning hard, Will sat up and started to get ready.

"You ready for our first big fight Will?" Taranee asked as she got dressed. Will let out a slightly bitter laugh.

"No, I don't think so." Will replied. "We're up against a seriously tough team today."

"Really?" Taranee asked in surprise and had Will been looking at Taranee, she would've seen her friends fear on her face. (Both girls made a strict point of facing away from each other while dressing. Perhaps that was a result of too much exposure to Irma and Cornelia, Taranee mused to herself.)

"That's what Serena said." Will replied. "You ready?"

"Let's go."

As the two girls walked out into the courtyard, they both had their own thoughts on the forthcoming arena fight. And both girls had their thoughts interrupted when a pair of deceivingly slim arms grabbed them both from behind and curled around their necks, almost pulling them over.

"Hi guys! Isn't it exciting? We have our first arena battle today!" Hay Lin squealed excitedly. Will and Taranee winced and Hay Lin pulled away looking embarrassed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to screech in your ears." She murmured in a more normal volume.

"Hay, you're not meant to put our team out of action." Irma reprimanded playfully. "That's the job of the OTHER team."

"Don't be such a pessimist!" Hay Lin protested in what was meant to be a stubborn pose. Unfortunately, it made her look about five years old and as threatening as a kitten. A sleeping kitten.

"Actually, she's right. We can't lose, I'm on the team." Cornelia added and Irma rolled her eyes.

"Grreeeaatt." Irma drawled sarcastically. "Now I feel REALLY safe."

"You should Lair, I'm having to make up for you." Cornelia shot back.

As Irma and Cornelia continued to bicker/flirt, the rest of the girls settled down to breakfast, which was a rather bland porridge.

"The thing is," Hay Lin continued through a mouthful of porridge, resulting in a spray of breakfast over Will and Taranee. "we can win this, it's like in stories and bards tales."

"Because bards tales are so true to life." Irma cut in. Hay Lin ignored her.

"And we've been training for so long. How can we fail?"

"By being over-confident, or coming against someone better." Serena said firmly, causing the table to go quiet. All eyes focused on her. "Well let us begin this briefing." Serena started in the same authoritative tone. "You're up against a team from the southern province of Bellwood. They're a team of free-fighters who call themselves Team Tennyson and are lead by a boy named Ben Tennyson."

A holographic image appeared on the table of a boy in his late teens. Short brown hair, green eyes and a round-ish-oval shaped face, the boy's expression was fiercely determined.

"This is Ben Tennyson. He is the one to be concerned about." Serena continued and pointed to his wrist. The hologram suddenly focused on his wrist and the small, watch-like device sitting on it. "This is a device called an Omnitrix. It allows him to summon up three Battlebeasts at the same time."

"Impossible!" Cornelia exclaimed, standing up rapidly. Serena fixed Cornelia with a glare.

"I assure you that it is fully possible." Serena growled and Cornelia sat down looking embarrassed. "Although he can only have one Battlebeast in the arena at any given time, he can instantly switch between the other two beasts that he's summoned. Do not underestimate him."

Will felt her stomach close up. As she looked at the image once more, she swallowed hard.

"Who else is are we up against mistress?" Taranee asked, bringing Will back to the real world.

"The rest of Ben's team is comprised of his cousin Gwen Tennyson, -" a young woman with long red hair and green eyes appeared. "- Her fiancée Kevin Levin, -" a young man with long black hair, dark brown eyes and a fierce expression on his face. "Ben's grandfather Max Tennyson." An older man who looked like he was in his late fifties, with short grey hair, thick black eyebrows and expressive brown eyes appeared "Ben's grandfather Max is no slough, so don't underestimate him. He is arguably the most dangerous person on their team."

"With all due respect Mistress, he's an old man. Surely he can't be that much of a threat?" Irma asked. Serena gave Irma a tight smile.

"The Max Tennyson defeated me in the arena twice. He's retired, but on this occasion, the team is short by one person, so he's stepped into the arena to fill in the slot. He's their team trainer and is a brilliant tactician, one I would keep a VERY close eye on."

Serena turned and pointed to the holographic display once more.

"Finally" she continued, "We have Julie Yamamoto." An image of a girl with short black hair, black-ish-brown eyes and a heart-shaped face appeared. "Of all the members of this team, she's the one with practically no 'real' combat experience in the arena. Do not mistake her for an easy target though, she wouldn't make the team if she wasn't any good. Dismissed."

As the girls stood up and started to get on the truck that was carrying them, they started to talk amongst themselves.

"That Ben Tennyson sounds like a real tough character to beat. Wonder what kind of Battlebeasts he's going to use?" Taranee asked as she was helped up into the back of the truck.

"Dunno, but I think it's safe to say they'll be…interesting to say the least." Irma replied firmly. "On the plus side, we're up against an old man and a rookie, so even if we can't beat him, we can thrash them out without too much trouble."

"For once Lair, you're absolutely right." Cornelia added with a smirk. "Worse case scenario, we take those two out and overwhelm the others."

"It won't come to that! I'm sure it won't!" Hay Lin protested excitedly. "I'm sure we'll beat them!"

"You heard what Serena said though, didn't you?" Taranee asked worriedly. "He's got a brilliant tactical mind and that makes him dangerous in my book."

"And grandma was a really powerful person and she was OLDER than this Max guy." Hay Lin pointed out. Will just sat there thinking.

"C'mon Will, surely you don't think we're at any real risk here?" Irma asked, drawing Will out of her daydream.

"I think," Will began quietly. "That it would be a good idea not to underestimate our opponents."

"Phhtt!" Cornelia huffed. "I've yet to be convinced."

Julie Yamamoto nervously looked out at the growing crowd. Her usually dark-skin was looking increasingly pale and her stomach was doing flip-flops. A reassuringly familiar arm slipped onto her shoulders.

"Relax, I'm sure you'll do fine." Ben told her. Julie smiled and looked Ben in the eyes.

"Yeah, doesn't stop me from being scared though." She replied. He gave her a kiss on the lips.

"Just keep it together when we're out there. It's just some rookie team anyway. They call themselves W.I.T.C.H. I doubt they'll beat us."

"I wouldn't underestimate them, if I were you." Max Tennyson said firmly as he stepped out from behind them. "Their trainer is a woman who earned her freedom in the arena and has managed to hold her own against me."

"I'll keep that in mind." Ben replied grimly.

Princess Elyon took her seat in the stands and glared at an innocent chair in front of her. As the chair began to smoke, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. While the phrase looks could kill was for most people, a metaphorical expression, in Elyon's case, it was absolutely true. And Elyon was getting sick of putting out fires that she'd managed to start by glaring. (Which stopped being funny after the seventh or eighth time.)

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Meridian games!" Announced a voice over the arenas speaker system "We have an impressive contest ahead of us today. In the blue corner, we have Team Tennyson." On the blue half of the arena, Team Tennyson walked into place. The crowds screaming intensified and Ben Tennyson stepped forward to give the crowds a bow.

"And in the red corner, I give you Team W.I.T.C.H!" The announcer continued as the crowds screaming died down. Elyon snorted to herself.

"Team W.I.T.C.H. It sounds exactly like something Hay Lin would come up with." She murmured to herself with a chuckle. Then Elyon's jaw dropped as the girl she'd just mentioned walked into the arena. Followed by a very familiar blond who appeared to be looking at the arena with disdain. No there was no mistaking that look. Cornelia Hale was, without a doubt, standing in the arena below her. And while Elyon didn't recognise the dark-skinned girl beside her, she certainly recognised the curly-haired brunette grinning at the crowds.

"So that's where you guys vanished off to." Elyon murmured, feeling a small smile come onto her face. True, it was far from ideal that Cornelia and the others were slaves, but there were far worse places a slave could end up.

"Let the games begin!" the announcer called and the crowds went ecstatic.

Will swallowed hard as she looked at the opposing team. Ben Tennyson stepped up first and summoned his Battlebeast. A huge creature, a cross between a man and a Tyrannosaurus Rex appeared. The mech components of his Battlebeast appeared, making him suddenly a lot more intimidating. (As if he wasn't scary enough WITHOUT the mech parts.)

Both of the creature's arms had a missile launcher attached underneath them both, while on top of the arms sat a pair of heavy machine guns. Covering the creature's body was a thick, sandy-brown armour that looked as tough as anything Will had ever seen. As the Battlebeast let out a tremendous roar, Irma let out a low whistle.

"Is it me, or does he look like he needs a hug?" Irma whispered in Will's ear, causing her to crack up.

"Irma, you have a weird sense of humour." Will replied, although she stayed grinning.

"That's just my natural charm babes, just my natural charm." Irma countered in a deadpan voice. Cornelia snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Just do better in that arena." Cornelia said sarcastically.

The redheaded woman Will recognised as Gwen walked up to the arena and summoned up her creature. In contrast to Ben's Battlebeast, this creature was small, only the size of a very young child. As the creature stood up, Will could see it was merely a small monkey, it's long tail curled up behind it. The mech components then appeared and unlike her cousins Battlebeast, hers didn't appear particularly intimidating. A pair of electro-gauntlets on the Battlebeasts front limbs and a pair of watch-like devices appeared on the creature's wrists and on the monkey's lower set of hands, there was a pair of strange metal boots.

"Aww, isn't he cute." Hay Lin cooed.

"Just remember, he's the enemy." Cornelia pointed out dryly.

Kevin Levin stood up next, his face in a grimace. His Battlebeast was a sandy-textured elephant. On the creatures back sat a set of overlapping armour plates with green and black lines running over them. A powerful pair of artillery pieces sat on the creature's back and a block of missiles sat on either side. Clearly, this Battlebeast looked like it meant business.

Julie Yamamoto summoned up her Battlebeast and a black and green rhino appeared. The mech components reinforced the rhino horn, covering it in steel. Armour plating emphasised the creature's unusual colour scheme and the twin heavy machine guns that were mounted on turret mounts added menace to an already tough-looking creature.

Finally, it was time for Max Tennyson to summon up his creature. An aggressive, vampire-like rottweiler appeared. Giving the crowd a fierce growl, there was another flash and his mech components appeared. Twin lightening lasers on each side of the dog's flanks were perhaps the only sign that the mech components were there at all.

The girls stepped forward as one and summoned up their Battlebeasts. On Will's left hand side, Taranee's Battlebeast stuttered into existence. Not a good sign, but unlike Team Tennyson, Team W.I.T.C.H didn't have a reserve team member.

Taranee's Battlebeast was unusual in that its mech components were strictly internal and barely visible until they were used. Looking at Taranee, she gave her a questioning glance and Taranee nodded.

"Let the battle begin!" the announcer called out and the crowds went wild.

Elyon swallowed and danced nervously on her toes. Phobos watched her with interest.

"Now what could have my sister dancing away so nervously?" Phobos murmured to himself.

The first shots of the fight came from Kevin Levin's elephant. The heavy artillery pieces and missile batteries on the creatures back roared into life and the girls Battlebeasts came under heavy fire. Will's dragon and Hay Lin's eagle took to the skies, while Taranee's snake scattered away from the shells. Cornelia's grak tree began a return barrage, her own heavy guns roaring into action.

Ben gave Julie a nod and her rhino slammed into Cornelia's grak tree at a full charge. After shuddering briefly, Cornelia's tree slammed a thick branch down towards the rhino's head.

Julie's rhino charged away as the branch came down and as the branch slammed into the ground, Ben Tennyson's creature rushed up and physically pinned Cornelia's tree down. Pulling the other side of Cornelia's tree up in a sort of pivot motion, Cornelia's grak tree slowly started to get uprooted.

Meanwhile, Will and Hay Lin's Battlebeasts flew towards Kevin Levin's Battlebeast, determined to stop his artillery bombardment of shells and missiles. But as they closed the gap, Gwen Tennyson's monkey leapt into action. Somersaulting above Hay Lin's eagle, one of the watch-like devices Will had noted earlier activated and a tractor beam shot out and grabbed Hay Lin's eagle. As the monkey came to land, the boots activated and slammed the monkey downwards. Although the creature landed unharmed, it did swing its arm forward. With Hay Lin's eagle still held by the tractor beam.

The results were not pleasant for Hay Lin's Battlebeast at all. Crashing into the arena floor with a tremendous crash, Hay Lin's eagle landed on its back violently. While her Battlebeast was still stunned, Gwen's monkey jumped onto it and grabbed the eagle around the throat, wrestling it to the ground, electro gauntlets sparking.

Will's dragon continued on course and fired her lightening lasers at Kevin's elephant. They hit his creature in the centre of its head and…had no effect whatsoever. Will frowned. Most Battlebeasts hit by a triple lightening laser burst would at the very least be knocked back. Before she could fire again, Max Tennyson's rottweiler leapt into the air and wrapped its jaws around her dragon's throat. As they landed, the rottweiler jumped away before Will could use her electro-gauntlets.

It was perhaps fortunate for Hay Lin that Irma spotted her predicament and decided to intervene. Four tentacles jumped out of the water and grabbed Gwen's monkey, dragging the creature towards the water. Wrestling a hand free, Gwen's monkey grabbed a tentacle and gave it a powerful electric shock. As the tentacles were forced to retreat, Gwen's Battlebeast stood up. Leaping into the air once more, it attempted to grab Hay Lin's eagle once more. This time, Hay Lin's eagle twisted away hard and evaded the tractor beam.

As the monkey landed, Hay Lin's eagle flew towards her own side of the arena, rushing to try and help Cornelia.

Will's dragon was having a considerably harder time while this was happening. The twin lightening lasers on both sides of Max Tennyson's rottweiler knocked Will's dragon to the ground with just one shot. As Will's dragon tried to stand back up, the rottweiler jumped at the dragon and tore into the dragon's wings with its teeth. But, just as Irma's Battlebeast had saved Hay Lin's, so to did Taranee's Battlebeast save Will's. Rising sharply, Taranee's snake raised its head and breathed fire from its internal flame-thrower. Jumping back, Max's rottweiler growled angrily and stared hard at them both.

Hay Lin's eagle fired four missiles into the back of Ben Tennyson's Battlebeast, causing the creature to shudder drastically. The creature turned to face Hay Lin's eagle and suddenly appeared to change shape. The creatures legs shrunk away and the arms soon became elongated wings. When the transformation was complete, an entirely different Battlebeast was standing there.

It looked like a huge blue, featherless eagle. With no helmet or armour of any kind and an array of missiles under its wings, this Battlebeast was clearly one of the other Battlebeasts that Ben had summoned. Taking to the air against Hay Lin, a desperate dogfight developed between the two Battlebeasts. Hay Lin's eagle diving and climbing, utilising her superior speed, while Ben's Battlebeast twisted and turned, utilising its superior manoeuvrability to avoid being hit.

Julie's rhino charged at Cornelia's grak tree once more, but a tentacle leapt out of the water and grabbed her horn. Although Irma's Battlebeast wasn't strong enough to fully pull Julie's Battlebeast into the water, it did pull the rhino off course just enough to avoid it slamming into Cornelia's tree.

Kevin Levin's elephant slammed into Cornelia's tree and attempted to finish what Ben had started. Machine gun fire from Cornelia's Battlebeast forced him back, the intensity was more than his creature could take, unlike Ben's creature, which had ignored the gunfire.

Gwen's monkey somersaulted over towards Taranee and Will's Battlebeasts and grabbed Taranee's snake. Taranee's snake responded almost instantly, with a volley of very fast bites to the monkey's face.

Will's dragon and Max's rottweiler circled one another slowly. Although Will's dragon was badly hurt and its wings were badly torn up, it was still far too dangerous to jump head-on. Equally, Max's rottweiler was equally dangerous to attack, its sharp fangs easily bringing down any such attack. Neither were they prepared to use their lightening lasers. Their close proximity to one another made such an attack as dangerous to the attacker as the attacked. It was still a stalemate when half time was called.

000000000000000000000000000

Elyon was practically bouncing in her seat with nerves. "Dear God, let them be okay." She murmured.

00000000000000000000000000000

"We are so very out of our league here." Taranee said, shaking her head. "It's a miracle we're still in at all."

"Hey we've gotten in a few shots!" Hay Lin protested.

"Operative term being a FEW." Irma pointed out. "They've spent most of the game HAMMERING us!"

Will looked over to where Team Tennyson were standing. Seeing Ben lean over and kiss his girlfriend, a plan began to form in her mind.

"Guys," Will began, "I think I have a plan."

"Really? Because I think we'll need a miracle to get out of this one." Cornelia said. Will beckoned her closer with a smile. "Oh yes. Just call me your resident genius."

And as Will explained her plan, even Cornelia had to admit that she was impressed.

Ben looked over at his opponents. They were good, he'd give them that, but their inexperience showed during the fight.

"You ready Ben?" Julie asked. He leaned over and kissed her again.

"Definitely. Let's finish this."

The two sides faced each other once more. On one side, Team Tennyson's Battlebeasts stood firm, their creatures looked worn, but ready to fight. On the other side stood Team W.I.T.C.H's Battlebeasts. Theirs looked like they were about to keel over.

"Does everyone know what they're doing?" Will asked. The others simply nodded. "Then lets go."

Hay Lin's eagle grabbed Taranee's snake in its claws and flew towards Team Tennyson's position. Gwen's monkey leapt at Hay Lin's eagle, but this time Hay Lin's eagle twisted away hard and the tractor beam missed. Ben's Battlebeast, still the bat-like creature from before, dived towards Hay Lin's eagle next and in an act of apparent panic, Hay Lin's eagle dropped Taranee's snake right in front of Julie's rhino. But as Hay Lin's eagle twisted into a dogfight with Ben's creature, an imperceptible smile crossed Will's face.

Stomping angrily, Julie's rhino charged at Taranee's snake. As the rhino got closer and closer, Taranee's snake reared up and let loose a burst of flame. On most Battlebeasts, this would force them to back off. But on Julie's rhino, it merely turned its head aside and continued its charge. Just as it was about to reach Taranee's snake, a tentacle leapt out of the water and grabbed Julie's rhino by the horn. With a slight jerk, Julie's rhino missed Taranee's snake and splashed into the water. As Julie's rhino struggled to get out of the water, two torpedoes streaked towards it and blew it back into the water. Then, Irma's Battlebeast wrapped its arms around Julie's rhino and dragged it down.

Ben's response was instantaneous. The moment the two torpedoes hit Julie's rhino, his Battlebeast changed form once more. This time, a huge armour-plated crab, with electro-gauntlets and two torpedo tubes appeared. But as he charged towards the waters edge, determined to help his girlfriend. Unfortunately, he left himself exposed to Hay Lin's creature, which took full advantage. Swooping down, four missiles and a stack of bombs smacked down onto the crab. This was followed by a heavy bombardment of bombs and missiles from Hay Lin's eagle that caused Ben's creature to vanish.

The crowd went wild. The first 'kill' of the fight had occurred and the crowds were chanting "W.I.T.C.H! W.I.T.C.H! W.I.T.C.H!" But the next 'kill' was soon to happen.

While Ben and Julie were being defeated, Cornelia and Kevin were slugging it out in an artillery battle. Shells slammed into both of them, their previous restraint no longer there. But the tide was about to be abruptly turned.

Will's dragon charged up at Gwen's monkey just as it landed. Unable to jump fast enough, Will's dragon caught Gwen's monkey in its jaws and bit down hard. Max Tennyson's rottweiler jumped to the rescue, leaping at Will's dragon and wrapping its jaws around the dragon's neck. Landing on top of Will's dragon, it looked like Will's Battlebeast was about to be forced out of the fight. But as the rottweiler tried to finish the job, a volley of machine-gun fire peppered it and the rottweiler was knocked back. Before Max's Battlebeast could recover, Will's lightening lasers fired and the rottweiler became the second 'kill' of the fight.

Julie's rhino succumbed to Irma's Battlebeast soon afterwards and the crowds went wild with enthusiasm.

Now seriously outnumbered, the remaining Battlebeasts of Team Tennyson pulled together. Gwen's monkey climbed onto the back of Kevin's elephant in what looked like position of fear. The crowd jeered, but the two clearly ignored them. As Gwen nodded to Kevin, Will felt a shiver of apprehension. True, Team W.I.T.C.H outnumbered Team Tennyson, but that didn't mean that it was over yet.

Suddenly and without any warning, Kevin's elephant charged at Cornelia's tree. As soon as the elephant got close enough, Gwen's monkey somersaulted and landed on Cornelia's tree.

As Cornelia's tree flailed about, attempting to throw the monkey off its back, the monkey grabbed on hard and sent an electric shock down its branches. Taking advantage of the suddenly shocked tree, Kevin's elephant rammed into it and began to push hard.

Will and the others watched on helplessly. Unable to attack the monkey or the elephant, for fear of hitting Cornelia's tree. Suddenly, Will had a brainwave.

"Hay Lin! Taranee!" Will yelled and she was extremely glad that their faces lit up with realisation at once. Jumping into action, Hay Lin's eagle swept down and grabbed Taranee's snake once more. Flying over towards Cornelia's tree, Hay Lin's eagle dropped Taranee's snake onto the tree branches.

Rearing up, Taranee's snake let loose a stream of flames over Gwen's monkey. Forced to let go, Gwen's monkey fell to the ground. The moment it hit the ground, Will's dragon jumped on it and tore into the creature's throat. With a resounding pop, Gwen's monkey disappeared and became the fourth 'kill' of the fight.

Finally, the last member of Team Tennyson left was Kevin's elephant. Although Will's lightening lasers were useless against it, Cornelia's guns and Hay Lin's bombs were certainly not. Cornelia's artillery pieces levelled onto a straight line of fire. (Something that took considerable time.) And fired at the same time as Hay Lin dropped another stack of bombs on the creature. With a resounding bang, Kevin's elephant became the final 'kill' of the fight. The crowd went ecstatic, chanting

"W.I.T.C.H! W.I.T.C.H! W.I.T.C.H!"

Will smiled. Cornelia and Irma snogged one another and Hay Lin excitedly hugged everyone squealing "WE WON! WE WON!"

"Bit excitable, isn't she?" Taranee asked Will with a quiet smile.

"Just a bit." Will replied.

0000000000000000000000

"Congratulations guys." Elyon murmured, tears of joy running down her cheeks.

Phobos watched with interest. He made a mental note to find out more about this 'Team W.I.T.C.H'.

"Well done." A quiet voice said to Will from behind. Will turned and saw Max Tennyson standing behind her.

"Thanks. I think." Will replied, smiling. "I'm sorry about your Battlebeasts."

"Oh, they're not gone for good. They can't really die over here, they return to dimension Beest to heal. In 48 hours, they'll be able to be summoned again."

"That's good to hear." Will said, smiling even more. "You weren't bad yourself."

"Thank you. Give Madame Serena my regards."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: You know the drill; do I REALLY need to say it? Don't own and never will.

AN: First up, I am very sorry to have left you all waiting so long for an update to this fic. I've put up a poll on my profile as to which fic I should focus on finishing after I finish Swordmaster, so feel free to go over and vote.

"We won, we won, we won! Can you believe it, we actually won!" Hay Lin practically screeched as she bounced up and down with excitement, running up to and hugging each member of the team in turn. And a few random people working in the compound as well.

"We TOTALLY ROCKED!" Irma bellowed, sticking her two thumbs up and her eyes danced with amusement. "Oh yeah, we bad!"

"If you insist on being loud water-brain, be loud SOMEWHERE ELSE," Cornelia growled as she rubbed her head. "Some of us are still feeling it."

"Aww, does wittle Corny want me to wub it better?" Irma asked sarcastically with a twinkle in her eye and Cornelia glared.

"Don't call me Corny!" she snapped, before her expression softened and she gave Irma a predatory grin. "At least not until our celebrations…later," she finished. Irma licked her lips and gave Cornelia a predatory grin.

"Why wait Corny?" she challenged, before tackling the blonde girl and kissing and tickling every part of her she could reach. Giggling, Cornelia started to retaliate in kind and soon the two girls were wrestling on the ground. Taranee and Will rolled their eyes.

"Will you two get a room?" Will asked irritably. "I get you two are madly in love and have far too much chemistry going off to ignore one another, but the rest of us aren't so lucky."

"What's the matter Willster? Afraid of joining the dark side?" Irma asked sardonically, sitting up. "We have cookies you know."

"Tempting. But no thanks," Will replied slightly nervously as Irma smirked at her. Cornelia raised an eyebrow at her and turned Irma's face back towards her.

"Am I not good enough for you?" she pouted with mock hurt. Irma shrugged.

"You know me Corny, I thought I'd make things more…interesting," Irma replied and Cornelia raised an eyebrow once more.

"Interesting?" She asked with an amused look on her face. "Oh I'll show you interesting!"

"Oh yeah Corny?" Irma challenged and Cornelia smirked as she tackled Irma.

"Oh I can think of a few things," she replied and Taranee put her hand on Will's shoulder.

"I think we'd better go, before their chemistry becomes too much for them to handle," she whispered and Will nodded. Before they could leave however, a voice cut in across the courtyard that stopped everything.

"Congratulations girls, you've done very well" Serena boomed as she approached them. "All of the gaming boards are talking about you as one of the most promising new teams this year."

"Ohhh, that's really, really cool! Do you think we'll make it all the way to the top? Even earn our freedom?" Hay Lin asked as she bounced around and Will and Cornelia rolled their eyes.

"I don't think he's really going to let us go? We're too much of a political liability and Phobos is notorious for not granting ANYONE their freedom," Cornelia pointed out and for a moment, Hay Lin's smile dimmed slightly, before she brightened up again.

"Then we'll be the first!" she exclaimed brightly as she continued to bounce, looking hopefully at Serena. "We'll just have to be supergood!"

"Is that even a word Hay-Hay?" Irma asked as she looked up from the ground, but Hay Lin simply shrugged her shoulders dismissively.

"Phhft! Who cares? WE'LL be the first!" she exclaimed happily, her face alight with glee. "We can do it, right Mistress?"

Serena hesitated and thought for a moment. On one hand, Phobos was not a good man and he was notorious for holding a grudge. Then again, there was always the possibility that Phobos could be persuaded to grant their freedom. Or he could fail to survive the next assassination attempt; Princess Elyon was notorious for her kinder disposition than her brother.

"It's possible," she finally said, but Taranee frowned slightly as she noticed Serena's hesitation. Hay Lin on the other hand, didn't seem to notice and she kept bouncing around the courtyard, occasionally hugging random people.

"You have to love Hay-Hay, she's always so full of bounce," Irma said with a smile as she watched Hay Lin.

"Does that girl ever stop?" Will asked with a raised eyebrow and Irma shook her head.

"Of course not, she's our little Hay-Hay!" Irma replied, before turning her eyes back to Cornelia. "I think I should be focusing on the more…important things."

"Why do I put up with you?" Cornelia asked, rolling her eyes and she leaned forward and kissed Irma. "I think that's a good place to start."

Will and Taranee rolled their eyes and walked away.

0000000000000000000000000

"I THOUGHT YOU SAID THAT THEY WOULD LOSE!" Phobos bellowed angrily at a terrified young man.

"B-b-but Sire, I was sure that they would lose!" the man protested, his pale blue eyes fearful behind his glasses. "The Tennyson team are experienced and have always been victorious before, the odds were against them."

Phobos snorted in contempt and turned to face Lord Cedric.

"This could have been avoided if you had purchased the girl as ordered Cedric!" he shouted and Cedric bowed.

"My King, your sister had already ensured that the girl fell into Serena's hands. She would not sell the girl," Cedric replied. Phobos growled once more.

"Sire, with your sisters patronage, Madam Serena is difficult to apply pressure to," Cedric continued. "She is naturally defiant and with your sisters backing, she is even more difficult."

"Yes, my dear sister," Phobos began, his expression changing to one of amusement and curiosity. "Tell me, what do you know about the other members of the team?"

"The others? One of them is Yan Lin's granddaughter and two of the others are her friends. As for the dark-skinned one, I don't know about her," replied Cedric.

"Was the blond girl one of those friends?" Phobos pressed and Cedric frowned.

"Yes she was. She dared stand and look at me like I was her equal," Cedric growled in annoyance as he recalled the encounter.

"Well it seems I should pay these girls a visit," Phobos said conversationally. "It's been a while since I visited my dear baby sisters team."

"Sire?"

"It should be…interesting to see what's managed to wash up on her shores," Phobos continued smoothly with a chuckle. "After all, she DID seem VERY interested in them."

"Really sire?"

"Oh yes. Very interested indeed," Phobos finished with a chuckle.

0000000000000000000000000

If there was one thing that virtually everyone in the rebel camp knew, it was that you NEVER interrupted Susan Vandom when she was reading the sports pages after a match. Not unless it was a matter of life or death and even then it had to be something that only she could deal with. So when Susan lowered her paper with a smile on her face, there was something of a collective sigh of relief.

"Good match Susan?" a tall man with short blond hair and moustache asked cheerfully and Susan smiled.

"Very good Dean, very good indeed. Seems my big sister has got a new celebrity team in the making. Goes by the name W.I.T.C.H if you can believe it," Susan replied with a smile. "Least that's the way the pundits seem to think. Anyway, how are our new recruits shaping up?"

Dean shrugged. "Well I wouldn't throw them into a straight battle, but they're coming along nicely. In a few weeks I think they'll be ready for their first battle."

"I hope so. I really hope so," Susan said as her expression turned grim. "Gods alone know we need the manpower."

"So you still plan to do it then?" he asked and Susan nodded. Dean Collins sighed. "And my objections?"

"I won't change my mind. It needs to be done and you know it."

"A lot of people are going to get hurt if you're wrong," Dean said with a shake of his head and Susan gave him a grim smile.

"A lot of more good people will get hurt if we don't," she replied. "We don't really have a choice."

"I hope you're right Susan, I really do."

"I think that makes two of us," Susan replied grimly. "It makes two of us."

0000000000000000000000000

Serena looked up as she saw a familiar carriage pull up outside the compound.

"How odd. I wasn't expecting Elyon until the end of the week. Wonder what's brought her here?" she said as she stood up from her desk. In truth Serena welcomed the distraction from running through the ledgers. It was dull work to say the least and not a job she relished. Swiftly rising to her feet, Serena walked to the front gate.

Caleb leapt off the carriage first, his eyes alertly scanning the surroundings. Elyon simply rolled her eyes and stepped out the carriage.

"Your majesty, we are honoured to have you here," Serena said as she bowed just outside the front gate. "Might I ask the reason for this pleasant surprise?"

"I'm here about your new team, the one that you call W.I.T.C.H," Elyon said with a flourish. Caleb looked at her with alarm.

"Your majesty, are you sure that's wise?" he asked and Elyon rolled her eyes.

"Caleb, I severely doubt that I'm in any serious danger here and certainly not from Team W.I.T.C.H."

"But-"

"Only danger she's in comes from water-brains bad jokes!" a voice shouted through the gate and Elyon's face lit up.

"Cornelia!" she exclaimed as she ran up to her best friend and hugged her. "You have been a nightmare to find! If it hadn't been for your arena fight…"

"You wouldn't have found the coolest guys in Meridian," Irma finished with a smirk. "Pfft, you don't get rid of us that easily."

"As you can see, Irma is as respectful as ever," Cornelia added as she rolled her eyes. "But I know a way to shut her up."

"Oh,what's that Corny?" challenged Irma, a glint in her eye. Cornelia smirked and pulled Irma into a powerful kiss. When they finally pulled apart, Elyon was smirking.

"Took you two long enough," she said with a smirk. "I was wondering if you two would EVER get it on."

"Weeeeeee, it's Elyon!" squealed Hay Lin as she grabbed Elyon from behind, almost pulling her over. "Missed you!"

"I've missed you too Hay-Hay," Elyon replied with a smile, turning around to face her old friend. Her face turned serious and she looked Hay Lin in the eye.

"I'm sorry about your Grandma," she finished and for a moment Hay Lin's face was downcast.

"I'll see her again. In my memories and dreams and even in the afterlife!" replied Hay Lin with false bravado. "Anyway, how are you? How did you find us?"

"Sheer dumb luck," replied Elyon with a smile. "Saw you in the arena."

As the four girls sat there on the dusty ground of the compound and chatted away like a group of old friends, Will eyed Elyon's clothing speculatively. Caleb however noticed and glared at her.

"Don't even think about it," he warned and Will scowled.

"What good would it do to me to steal from her? I can't sell it or buy anything with it, so what would be the point?" she challenged. Caleb glared.

"You're a thief. You'll always be a thief, it's what you do," he replied and it was Will's turn to glare.

"I stole to survive," she snapped. "It was that or starve! But what would you know about starving?"

And with that last question, she stormed off to sit next to Taranee, where she proceeded to glare at Caleb, who glared back in turn.

"So do you think we might be able to get out of here now that Princess Elyon knows who we are?" she asked Taranee and Taranee shook her head.

"Only the King can grant arena slaves their freedom Will, remember?" Taranee pointed out, before switching her attention to Will and Caleb's glaring contest.

"You know, it's a good thing that looks can't kill or this entire compound would be on fire," she observed.

"Yeah, well he's an arrogant, stupid-"

"Caleb, it's time for us to leave," Elyon shouted as she stood up. Hugging her old friends in turn, Elyon promised to return.

"I'll see you all again soon, but duty calls," she promised.

"I'll hold you to that," Cornelia replied with a smirk as Elyon stepped into the carriage. Elyon laughed. It was good to see her old friends again.

"Will we be returning there in the future your majesty?" Caleb asked as the carriage moved away, his body tense with anger as he dwelt on his run in with that blasted redhead with beautiful eyes.

"Of course," Elyon replied. "I'm surprised you didn't recognise your old girlfriend Cornelia."

"Wait, Cornelia was there?" he asked in shock. He'd been so engaged by the redhead that he hadn't noticed his former girlfriend.

"Oh yes," Elyon replied with a smirk. "Of course with your newest girlfriend…"

As Caleb blushed red, Elyon laughed. Just because she was the nice one in the family, didn't mean that she couldn't have a bit of fun.


End file.
